The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) says about 250,000 serving non-professional teachers across federal, state and local government levels will be trained and licensed under the Federal Government’s Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP).
The six-month programme, being implemented in cohorts for serving teachers in public and private schools across Nigeria, will provide unqualified teachers with professional training while allowing them to remain in service. The TRCN said successful participants will take its Professional Qualifying Examination (PQE) and those who pass will be registered as qualified teachers and issued professional licences.
This was contained in a statement approved by the TRCN Head of Media, Esther Chiwar.
Chiwar said the initiative was led by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, to provide unqualified teachers with the professional training and qualifications required to meet teaching standards.
According to her, the ATPP was designed to address the challenge of teachers who are currently teaching without recognised professional qualifications or licences.
She said some of the affected teachers had degrees in subjects other than education but had not undergone recognised teacher training programmes.
Chiwar said the lack of professional qualifications had affected the career progression of some serving teachers and exposed them to possible sanctions.
She added that the programme would provide such teachers with an opportunity to acquire professional qualifications without leaving their jobs.
“The six-month programme offers two pathways: the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) for graduates of non-education disciplines and the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) for those in the National Diploma cadre,” she said.
According to her, both pathways would combine four months of blended learning with two months of supervised teaching practice in the participants’ schools.
She said the blended learning component would include self-paced online modules, virtual facilitation and assessments.
Chiwar added that the supervised teaching practice would enable participants to apply their training in real classroom settings while remaining in service.
She said candidates who successfully completed the prescribed ATPP examination would be eligible to sit for the TRCN’s Professional Qualifying Examination.
“Candidates who pass the PQE will be registered as qualified teachers and issued professional licences,” she said.
Chiwar said the TRCN, in collaboration with the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, would drive the implementation of the programme.
She added that other agencies supporting the initiative included the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).
She said successful participants would subsequently sit for the Council’s Professional Qualifying Examination, adding that their certification and licensing would be covered by the programme fee.
Chiwar explained that about 250,000 teachers had been mapped for participation across the federal, state and local government levels.
